Don't Let Romney Be the Republican Party's Last Hurrah

It's a mystery: why are there so few blacks in the Republican Party?The answer to that question, I believe, is one of the keys to the survival of our Republic.

At one time blacks were Republican and Baptist, in that order. Those days, the dirtiest name you could call a black man wasn't "nigger," but "Democratic nigger." If you did, blood was surely going to be spilt -- most likely yours. Blacks were so anti-Democrat that they went to great lengths to root out blacks who supported the party that had enslaved them, their families, and their ancestors.

If you were found out to be a black Democrat, you stood a good chance of being shunned, beaten and -- at worst -- killed by other blacks. Some black women refused to have relations with black men and husbands who supported Democrats, which pretty much is a deal-breaker for me in any circumstance. There were even instances when the Ku Klux Klan -- Democrats all -- had to step in and protect black Democrats from harm from other blacks.

Say what?

I know.

Isn't American history far more complex than what you were taught in government schools?

Blacks' support for the Republican Party began to erode with the arrival of Franklin Delano Roosevelt and the subsequent rise of the welfare state. Once Roosevelt and the Democrats turned on the spigot of dependency, blacks began shifting their allegiance in accelerating numbers from the Republican Party to the Democratic Party, culminating in the 1960s with Lyndon Johnson's Great Society.

In short, blacks no longer vote for the party that freed them, but for the party that feeds them and, to add an addendum, "the party that breeds far too many dependent ones of them." As my favorite aunt said to me not long ago: "I don't like the Republicans because they don't want to give nobody nothing [sic]." I didn't reply. It would have been pointless.

Because of that dependency, black communities are trapped in a vicious cycle. The more handouts they accept, the more dependent they become and the more handouts they need and so on and so on and dooby dooby doo. Blacks today support the Democratic Party by the same margins (90 percent-plus) as they once did Republicans. The same thing is beginning to happen to the Democrats' newest dependency class, Latinos, who also vote in large numbers for Dems. As with my Jewish brothers and sisters in this regard, all I can say is: "Oy vey!"

The Republican Party shares a great deal of the responsibility for why blacks are so overwhelmingly Democrat. The party is petrified of defending and touting its superior record on race. It remains mute while Democrats paint it as the "white man's party" of racism, the KKK, lynching, segregation, and Jim Crow. Nothing is farther from the truth, but don't hold your breath waiting to hear anything to the contrary from the GOP. For all intents and purposes, the Republican Party's symbol just might as well be an elephant turned on its back, showing a white belly in submission, whenever race is the issue.

I know we on the right don't generally choose our friends or candidates by race, but it's not too late to start. In fact, it's crucial that we begin to, at least a bit. How much longer can the party remain viable when it's perceived as too white, too old, and too rich in a nation rapidly becoming more of color? We can no longer afford to be so high-minded on the race issue. It's nothing personal or moral -- it's politics, and politics is about winning!

I'm convinced Romney is going to win this election by a comfortable margin. My best bet: 54 percent to Obama's 46 percent. But I'm equally convinced that the party's long-term electoral prospects aren't very good given the demographic trends. If I were a Democrat, I would be wildly optimistic, even in the face of an Obama loss. If we Republicans stand pat and think all it will take is a turned-around economy under Romney to cause minorities to flock to our cause, we'd waste a golden opportunity. After all, how'd that strategy work out for Republicans following the Reagan economic boom?

Blacks of my generation and the generation before will never vote in large numbers for Republicans. But enough of our children and grandchildren just might in numbers enough to make a difference come election time. That won't happen in a vacuum, though. Unless the party begins to make its case to and in the black and Latino communities, it could easily go the way of the Whigs. And don't give me any "let's break away and form an official Tea Party" jazz. Tea Partiers are held in lower regards among blacks and Latinos than the Republican Party.

Republicans need to be more proactive in promoting the party to minorities. Sponsor scholarships in the name of great Republicans like Frederick Douglass and James Weldon Johnson, who wrote "Lift Every Voice and Sing," also known as the "Black National Anthem."

Republicans could also support Republican chapters on the campuses of high schools, universities, and colleges, especially on those that are traditionally black. Send prominent Republican figures to speak before those groups. Democrats do things like that 365 days a year. It's called politicking, something our party used to be good at.

It's a mystery: why are there so few blacks in the Republican Party?

The answer to that question, I believe, is one of the keys to the survival of our Republic.

At one time blacks were Republican and Baptist, in that order. Those days, the dirtiest name you could call a black man wasn't "nigger," but "Democratic nigger." If you did, blood was surely going to be spilt -- most likely yours. Blacks were so anti-Democrat that they went to great lengths to root out blacks who supported the party that had enslaved them, their families, and their ancestors.

If you were found out to be a black Democrat, you stood a good chance of being shunned, beaten and -- at worst -- killed by other blacks. Some black women refused to have relations with black men and husbands who supported Democrats, which pretty much is a deal-breaker for me in any circumstance. There were even instances when the Ku Klux Klan -- Democrats all -- had to step in and protect black Democrats from harm from other blacks.

Say what?

I know.

Isn't American history far more complex than what you were taught in government schools?

Blacks' support for the Republican Party began to erode with the arrival of Franklin Delano Roosevelt and the subsequent rise of the welfare state. Once Roosevelt and the Democrats turned on the spigot of dependency, blacks began shifting their allegiance in accelerating numbers from the Republican Party to the Democratic Party, culminating in the 1960s with Lyndon Johnson's Great Society.

In short, blacks no longer vote for the party that freed them, but for the party that feeds them and, to add an addendum, "the party that breeds far too many dependent ones of them." As my favorite aunt said to me not long ago: "I don't like the Republicans because they don't want to give nobody nothing [sic]." I didn't reply. It would have been pointless.

Because of that dependency, black communities are trapped in a vicious cycle. The more handouts they accept, the more dependent they become and the more handouts they need and so on and so on and dooby dooby doo. Blacks today support the Democratic Party by the same margins (90 percent-plus) as they once did Republicans. The same thing is beginning to happen to the Democrats' newest dependency class, Latinos, who also vote in large numbers for Dems. As with my Jewish brothers and sisters in this regard, all I can say is: "Oy vey!"

The Republican Party shares a great deal of the responsibility for why blacks are so overwhelmingly Democrat. The party is petrified of defending and touting its superior record on race. It remains mute while Democrats paint it as the "white man's party" of racism, the KKK, lynching, segregation, and Jim Crow. Nothing is farther from the truth, but don't hold your breath waiting to hear anything to the contrary from the GOP. For all intents and purposes, the Republican Party's symbol just might as well be an elephant turned on its back, showing a white belly in submission, whenever race is the issue.

I know we on the right don't generally choose our friends or candidates by race, but it's not too late to start. In fact, it's crucial that we begin to, at least a bit. How much longer can the party remain viable when it's perceived as too white, too old, and too rich in a nation rapidly becoming more of color? We can no longer afford to be so high-minded on the race issue. It's nothing personal or moral -- it's politics, and politics is about winning!

I'm convinced Romney is going to win this election by a comfortable margin. My best bet: 54 percent to Obama's 46 percent. But I'm equally convinced that the party's long-term electoral prospects aren't very good given the demographic trends. If I were a Democrat, I would be wildly optimistic, even in the face of an Obama loss. If we Republicans stand pat and think all it will take is a turned-around economy under Romney to cause minorities to flock to our cause, we'd waste a golden opportunity. After all, how'd that strategy work out for Republicans following the Reagan economic boom?

Blacks of my generation and the generation before will never vote in large numbers for Republicans. But enough of our children and grandchildren just might in numbers enough to make a difference come election time. That won't happen in a vacuum, though. Unless the party begins to make its case to and in the black and Latino communities, it could easily go the way of the Whigs. And don't give me any "let's break away and form an official Tea Party" jazz. Tea Partiers are held in lower regards among blacks and Latinos than the Republican Party.

Republicans need to be more proactive in promoting the party to minorities. Sponsor scholarships in the name of great Republicans like Frederick Douglass and James Weldon Johnson, who wrote "Lift Every Voice and Sing," also known as the "Black National Anthem."

Republicans could also support Republican chapters on the campuses of high schools, universities, and colleges, especially on those that are traditionally black. Send prominent Republican figures to speak before those groups. Democrats do things like that 365 days a year. It's called politicking, something our party used to be good at.